Improved swing-jack for railway-cars



Vping when used.

UNITED 'rares ATENT rtree.

JOSEPH H. CLARK, OF WESTBROOK, MAINE.

IMPROVED SWING-JACK FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

Specication forming partof Letters Patent No. 51,696, dated December 26, 1865; antedated December 13, 1865.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH H. CLARK, of Westbrook, in the county of' Cumberland, in the State ot' Maine, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Jacks with orwith'out a screw, which I call Glarks Swing-Jack; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ot' the construction and operation ot' the same,ret`erence being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making` a part of this specication, in which- Figure l is vertical sections Nos. l, 2, and 3, showing the joint in the jack. Fig. 2 is a horizontal view ot a railway-track with an angle ofthe base ot1 the jack.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two figures.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully ,understand and construct my invention, I proceed to describe it.

The base D may be made of cast-iron, and about one foot wide, eighteen inches long, and six inches deep, more or less. The mortise ot' the base D should be about four inches wide and seven inches long upon the top, and cut away on the bottom at one end to admit of the circular tenon or vertical support'at the bottom ot' the pieces A B C.

The piece A maybe made otl cast or wrought iron, and one foot longt'rom the shoulder resting on the base D to the top, more or less, and about three and a half inches in diameter at the top, and the bottom made six by ten inches square, and ot' circular form where it rests upon the base D, with ratches on the back or the side opposite to the point ot' the circular tenon. lhe said piece A should have a circular tenon, made to work easily in the mortise in the base D. A space should be made in the piece A, with a thread cut for the screw S to work in, and the said screw S should be about eighteen inches long and two and a halt' inches in diameter, more or less, and should stand perpendicular and have the common arrangement of a lever now in use for the purpose ot' turning to raise a weight. The caps E H I should be made ot' circular form on the top, and cut uneven to prevent slip- The cap E should form a part of a circle with the shoulders at the bottom of the piece A, and be made ten inches long and three and a half inches wide and two and a halt inches thick, more or less, with a strongjoint upon the end 'opposite to where it rests upon the screw S, with the brace G firmly secured at the .joint by a bolt, and the said brace G should be made one foot long, three and a halt inches wide, and one inch thick, with one end titted to make a part ot' the joint at the end of the piece E, with the lower end titted to work in the ratches on the piece A and act as a support to the cap E. The caps E and H should be tted to the top ot' the screw S, so as to permit the said screw S to turn while the said caps E and H remain fixed.

The piece B may be made in two parts, ot' cast-iron, and put together with bolts, with a a space four inches wide and one inch deep in the center for the slide F to work in, with a circular tenon to work in the mortise of the base D, similar to the tenon on the piece A. Strong catches should be irmly secured to the top of the piece B. The piece F should be tted to slide in the space in the center ot' the piece B, with ratches to receive the catches at the top of the piece B, with the cap I firmly fixed on the top ot' the said slide F. The caps H I should be sutliciently large to cover the tops ot' the pieces A B.

rIhe piece O may be made ot` cast-iron and ot' any required length and strength, with a circular tenon to work in the mortise in the base D.

The pieces B O are to be used when a weight has been raised.

The object iirst contemplated in the use of this invention was the swinging of a steam rail-car into place when oft' the track.

VTo operate this jack I set two of them under a steam railway-car (when off from the track,) as seen by the bases D D in Fig. 2, and after havin g raised the car motion may be given and the car will swing in the direction of the track.

I donot claim the raising of weights; but

What I do claim, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. rlhe employment and use of joint at the base D.

2. rlhe combination of the joint at the base D with the pieces A B C and the brace G.

-JOSEPH H. CLARK.

Witnesses:

WM. W. Lo'rHRoP, E. R. BARBOUR. 

